Internet cafes ask to reboot after 3 months offline
Operators of internet cafes and game centres have asked the government to ease restrictions and allow them to reopen after almost three months under lockdown.
Kijsangkom Nasomchai, a representative of the operators, submitted the request to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha this week, citing the improved Covid-19 situation.
He said internet cafés and game centres have been shut since late March as part of virus prevention measures but they now should be considered for reopening, since no domestic infection had been reported for 14 days, as of June 11. Internet centres were not mentioned in the list of businesses allowed to reopen on Monday (May 15) under the fourth phase of lockdown easing.
Internet cafés are facing numerous financial burdens, including bills for rent, electricity, water, and staff, while their businesses remain in lockdown with no revenue, said Kijsangkom.
He said that customers were also being deprived of the opportunity to use the internet in cafés to study, sell products online, and contact friends and relatives.
If the businesses were allowed to reopen, operators would impose the “new normal” measures, such as mandatory mask wearing, temperature checks, sanitizer and the ThaiChana QR platform to limit customer numbers, he said. Customers would also be limited to two hours per visit.